To be included in this study patients had to have a diagnosis of acute sciatica as determined by the principle investigator based on the following criteria: unilateral leg pain extending below the knee (with or without strength, sensory, or reflex changes), and a positive straight leg raising sign (defined as as pain radiating from the buttock to below the knee with elevation of the leg between zero and sixty degrees). Patients had to be between twenty and sixty years of age, and had to be entered in [recruited into] the study within one week of the onset of their symptoms.